GOODREADINGMAGAZINE.COM.AU
GOOD READING MARCH 2014
72
READERS’ LIFE
March 2014
main
RATINGS
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RG
What You’re Reading
The Simple Gift
Steven Herrick
UQP $19.95 age guide 14+
I’ve been a fan of Steven Herrick
for a very long time. But
somehow I missed this book, which was first
published 14 years ago and is now reissued as
one of our bestselling Australian classics.
Sixteen-year-old Billy is planning to leave
home. He’s escaping from his alcohol-fuelled
father, his local high school (where he’s failed
every subject except English) and, sadly, his
much loved dog, Bunkbrain. He hitches a
ride on a coal train to Bendarat, where he
claims a disused train carriage as his motel
accommodation.
Here he meets an old homeless guy
named Bill, who also lives in the same
motel, and Caitlin, a 17-year-old girl who
has a well-heeled dad. Herrick explores the
relationship that develops among these three
unlikely friends. This lovely story is written in
verse, making it a joy to read.
Emily Darling, Hendra Qld
The Poppy
Andrew Plant
Ford St $26.95 age guide 9+
This story begins with a dark
and ominous scene of a
poppy field, where battles in the past left many
thousands of soldiers dead. A single poppy
takes flight across the field and floats over the
memorial at Villers-Bretonneux in northern
France, where French and Australian flags fly
side by side. So begins the true story of a village
that has never forgotten the sacrifices made by
Australian soldiers who helped to free their
country from the Ger man invaders dur ing
World War I.
The book’s simple message is that
Villers-Bretonneux never forgets – and nor
should we. The text is simple enough for
primary age children while still delivering a
deep message.
As the poppy floats over different parts of
the village, the story of Australia’s involvement
in World War I is revealed.
Many of the paintings depict how deeply
ingrained the importance of remembering
is to the people of Villers-Bretonneux and
the efforts they have taken to ensure that the
Australian soldiers are not forgotten.
Robyn Donoghue, Bentleigh Vic
Three gr readers tell us about books
that have got them talking.
Deportment for Dukes & Tips for Toffs
Brummell & Beau
British Library Publishing $16.95
If you’ve ever worried about who to invite
to your next literary soiree, how to hunt
and shoot in style, or what your duty as a
gentlemen is, then this is the book for you.
This indispensable guide to behaviour for
the perfect gentleman has taught me things
that I always wanted to know but which had
hitherto eluded me. I learned, for example,
that you must ‘never point your gun at your
fellow-sportsmen ... without previously
consulting the wishes of your host’.
This satirical guide to manners
when mingling in polite society was
first published in 1900. The names of
the authors provide a hint to the book’s
satirical content for anyone who’s heard
of Beau Brummell, the early 19th-century
dandy and fashion guru for men, who was
a kind of Gok Wan for the Regency era.
England in the 19th century was awash with
stern and snooty guides to etiquette, so this
parody would have been a rib-tickling respite
from all that ser iousness.
Jack Simmons, Sandy Bay Tas
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6/02/14 9:12 PM